Thanksgiving

We are in California for Thanksgiving and are having a great time! I just wanted to post a couple of highlights from our trip!

Disneyland was a blast!! We went with Papa Joe, Nathan, Korie, Velzy, Avery, Ryan, Me, Eliza, Mary, Alyssa and Aaron on the first day and everyone but Alyssa and Aaron but added Jeanette on the second day. Alyssa carried Avery or Mary all day! Her arms were never empty and she has the sore muscles to prove it! Alyssa just spoiled the kids....she got them Mickey Mouse suckers and light up necklaces

We ended up seeing Ryan's cousin Jason and Andrea and their 6 six kids at Disneyland! Thanks for the extra fast pass action! It was awesome! ;) It was great to see you!

We got to see it snow in Disneyland, that was sure a fun treat!

We also got to see our friend Meredith who works at Disneyland. It was fun to catch a bit and for the girls (especially Mary) too kiss and hug her for a few minutes! Can't wait to see you in December Meredith.

We had such a great time we always love to come! We rode tons of rides and Mary was tall enough to ride the Matterhorn. She loved it so much she rode it 4 times! She loves those roller coasters just like her mom! It was so cute she wanted to go again and again and really liked it but plugged her ears for the whole ride every time! I guess Disneyland was a little loud for her she did this a lot not just on the rides ;)

When asked, Eliza's favorite part was California Screamin'

(notice she is posing for the camera...yes she knows where the cameras are on the the rides!) and Tower of Terror!

(She wasn't really scared!)

When asked the next day, Mary's favorite part was the Christmas Tree.

Thanksgiving Day Jeanette, Korie and I cooked and cleaned together and got all set up for dinner while most everyone else took the kids or went to a movie. Avery stayed home and Mary took a long over due nap. We had a great dinner that seemed to take so long to prepare for the 20 minutes we enjoy the food and the the hour to clean up.

Is it worth it! Of course!

I am thankful for....healthy kids who say the funniest things and keep me smiling all the time. A husband who put up with wife and all my crazy ideas and whims, I am trying to get more focused ;) I am so easily sidetracked. I am also thankful for family, especially my immediate family, mom, sisters, brothers, and extended family. I am thankful for friends, good friends who keep you on track and love you for you! I am thankful for our jobs and for good babysitters. I am thankful for technology of computers, photo etc to keep my memories current in my mind. I am thankful for car seat cozies and Jill for motivating us to get it together! I am thankful for walking and my walking partner and friend, Shannon, and for keeping me motivated and still wanting to go even though her challenge is over. I am especially these last few weeks thankful for a good nights rest! I haven't slept through the night in years and thanks to Tylenol pm :) I am getting that straight sleep it is awesome! Lastly, I am thankful for good music I have been turned onto lately, particularly Amy Seely, Fiest, and Ingrid Michaelson...thanks Shannon!

Halloween Costumes

This is my lovely pirate cutie! Eliza And our Beautiful Little Mermaid Mary Scarlet

Isn't the hair hysterical!! It was wildly, awesome! ;) It's foam! With her cheerleader sister. She Cheered at a football game the Friday before Halloween! Stay posted for a video coming soon to a blog near you ;).
These cheering pics were taken a few days before Halloween


The girls weren't a very good posers for pictures on Halloween... too much excitement!!

Jack o lanterns

These are our Jack o Lanterns this year. This is one of the first years Ryan hads been home while we were carving. The girls had so much fun and Mary Scarlet was scary with the knife! Eliza designed all our pumpkin on the computer. We each had our own template to copy:)

Pumpkin Patch

We went to Joe's Place Farm to their pumpkin patch for Family Home Evening with the Lyman's. We had such a good time. They had so many activities and it was beautiful fall day. We went through a maze of hay and wood, walked through the corn stalks and took a hay ride and ate fresh apples. (Mary ate the core and all!) We all got our pumpkins and then enjoyed some yummy treats from the produce shop. The girls had Snickerdoodles and Ryan and I got some super yummy pumpkin fudge and we brought home fresh apple juice!

The girls actually got to go to the pumpkin patch twice this year once with the family and another time with the Young Women. Here are a couple shots from our trip to Bi z farm. Here I am with Sister Nielsen, Rachel and Alyssa. At Bi z Farm they had a pumpkin sling shots(fun), an apple press and corn huller (the kids actually got to do these), a petting zoo, a hay pyramid (you can kind of see Alex, Brenna & Eliza at the very top Eliza is the one hung over the side), a corn maze, fresh hot cider or cocoa and a hayride to the pumpkin patch. Plus a washing station to shine your pumpkin up before you go! I think this was Mary's favorite part, aside from feeding the goats! That face was priceless and the image doesn't do it justice!

Hawaii

Ryan and I went to Maui and The Big Island in Sept. We SCUBA dove, snorkeled, boogie boarded, hiked, and even rode in a Helicopter over the Lava flow! We had such a fun time. Here are some of my favorite pictures.

We went with our friends Jason and Tina.

Here we are in Lahina under the Banyan Tree
At Big Beach where Jason and Ryan rode some really BIG waves on the boogie boards.

Tina and I thought we were destined for the ER! Check out the video!

Mama's Fish House.

An awesome snorkeling cove called The Aquarium and a super hot man!! My man!

Kona!!!

This is what we saw when we walked to the first beach in Kona! Huge spiders and tons of them. They were hidden everywhere on the trail. yeek! oh la la our drive to South Point the southern most tip of the US not Florida like everyone thinks!

Here is South Point it was so windy!!

The Lava from the helicopter. The picture is deceiving the lava river is really really wide 50-60 feet!

Spectacular sunsets almost every night! I LOVE Hawaii!!!

September! October! Were has it gone!!!!

Well these 2 months have flown by....school started we have a 2nd grader now it is almost too much for me! I love summer and hate to see it end. I am one of those weird moms that would rather the kids stay home all year long. I don't long for school to start each year I actually dread it, the routine of it all! haha Here she is on the first day of second grade. She is posing with her Carmeled Apple she gave to her teacher on the first day of school.

A tradition in our house. Here is Eliza with her teacher Mr. Bitton on the first day of school. I have to say Mr. Bitton is one of the best!! Eliza is having so much fun. He is very strict, animated, funny, and sarcastic. It is a perfect combo for our little Eliza. He is kind of like a Ryan personality. The funny teddy bearish strict one that only a few people get to see ;) Anyway the kids really do well in his class and he makes a great learning environment.

Here is a picture of my family getting together for some birthdays....Tiana, Andrew, and Owen.

I had to throw this picture in but there is quiet a story behind it!! Ever since the Halloween decorations came out in the stores we have had a scared little Mary. A month ago I couldn't tell you the whole story because it was so hard for our little 2 year old to articulate her feelings, but I do think I have got it down now. So...a very long story but the short version.

Mary Scarlet is terrified of scary mannequins. Especially ones that move or make noise. She experiences full body trembles, crouches down and hides her face, literally frozen. She saw one a Wal Mart and then it was the 'cary tor' (Scary store). The sad thing was that we didn't realize that Mary was calling wal mart the 'scary store' for quite sometime. Mary was scared to go in the backyard or the bonus room because you can see the 'scary store' from these 2 locations. It took us several weeks and many sleepless nights (she would panic at bedtime and wake during the night screaming) to figure out she was scared of the 'scary guy' and the 'scary store'. We had to prove to her that the 'scary guy' was 'bye bye' (by going in a different entrance at the 'scary store') and then she STARTED to get it. We then went to party city to get Eliza's costume and, I thought it was unfortunate at the time, THE 'scary guy' that was at wal mart was also here. argh! But it was actually good! We hardly ever go to the Party store and now that is the 'Scary Store' in Mary's book! Yeah! When we got home she pointed toward wal mart and said ' Not scary store, scary guy went bye bye to other scary store!' What a big concept for a 2 year old! So back to the picture. The first day we saw the scary guy Mary (who never before) started throwing an absolute fit for bed so we tried her with Eliza the first night and within minutes we had 2 beautiful sleeping girls......how cute huh!!! As a side note to the 'Scary Store Story' Mary now asks to watch 'scary tbee' (scary tv). Honestly, I don't know where she gets it!

Mary baking cookies with Eliza for the first time. Loved it!!

Mary is a mama's girl she loves to stay right under my feet doing what ever I am, and then doing it without help but I still can't walk away. Particular isn't she! One of her favorite things is to 'paint nails'. Here she is learning to use the finger nail file. She thinks she is a pro now! :)

Eliza love to craft anything to do with art and she is game! You should see our garage/Eliza's art room. Or should I say Art floor, it's a mess!! Here are a couple of her latest projects. She was very proud of.

Well I thought I would post all of Sept and October in this post but I was wrong. Stay tuned for a couple pictures from Hawaii and some super cute pumpkin patch, jack o lanterns and Halloween Costumes!!